They say that the adult mother-daughter relationships are always very complex, fraught with many
challenges but unlayer these complexities, they can perhaps form the most enduring strong, deeply
connected emotional bonds. They can become best of friends. I and my younger sister have been
lucky to have a mom, who is a very liberal and strong person. Right from our childhood, she gave
prowess to our imagination, in any way that was affordable to her, even with her limited resources.
To me she has become a strong pillar of support all through and till date, she is my go-to person, if I
am stuck on something. It may not be something up her stream, but being the person, she is, she
comes up with such insights on that matter that it is brilliant. I have seen her creativity from close
quarters. She is prolific in handwork and tailoring and therefore she was my first person to
collaborate with, when we came up with the idea of CHOLI BOLI – a genre of happy fit blouses that
defies form-fit styling and gives the user a comfort of being completely comfortable in a saree-
blouse while also experimenting styles, patterns and attitudes.
Currently at CHOLI BOLI, she is the production controller as she keeps a close eye on the quality,
handworks and vendor management, while I look at designs, themes and marketing. Having said, our
Sufi collection was the first line that I created with her, where she lent her craft. Post that she has
also gone on to develop the embroidery collection for CHOLI BOLI. We have a most comfortable
working relation and do not get into each other’s toes there. I value her creativity and will always
make use of her that prowess. Even when our sales were down during the lockdown and I felt a tad
depressed, she inspired me to consolidate my strength and re-energise the brand.
